Genesis 37:23-36
In and Out of the Pit of Despair
Introduction: You know that throughout the Genesis sermons, we’ve found a ton of pictures which find their fulfillment in later redemptive history. Adam Clarke, the great Methodist commentator and theologian cautions strongly against this. Here are his thoughts –
“Parallels and coincidences of this kind should always be received cautiously, for where the Spirit of God has not marked a direct resemblance, and obviously referred to it as such in some other part of his word, it is bold, if not dangerous, to say “such and such things and persons are types of Christ.” We have instances sufficiently numerous, legitimately attested, without having recourse to those which are of dubious import and precarious application.”
In his later comments from chapter 40 of Genesis, he is even stronger in his wording and condemnation of the searching out and use of such pictures. But in this, he and I will have to disagree.
First, because he is long since dead, and secondly, his thoughts dismiss the very words of both Jesus and the apostles which state that these things testify to Jesus. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 10, as on several other occasions, Paul uses such examples from the Old Testament and demonstrates exactly how they symbolically picture and point to Christ and His work. He then says,
“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (11)
Having said this, pictures, patterns, and parallels cannot be pulled out of the wind. They must align with something God later instructs us on, either implicitly or explicitly. And they must be directed properly to the plan of redemption as the Bible reveals it.
If so, then the patterns are not only acceptable, they actually explain the seemingly unnecessary nature of some things the Bible includes. They are not unnecessary, but are integral words, ideas, and pictures which reveal to us the majesty of God’s wisdom and the glory of the work of Christ.
Today’s patterns will be no different. So let’s continue our journey through Genesis with the story of Joseph as he is sold off to slavery in the land of Egypt.
Text Verse: I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are full of inflammation,
And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am feeble and severely broken;
I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. Psalm 38:6-8
Both Jacob and Joseph will suffer greatly from the events of today’s passage. It’s hard for most of us to relate to what occurred to them, but how much more the things which they picture in Christ. What He suffered for us was done willingly – for people like you and me.
Such is the love of God for His wayward creatures. Let us never forget what He went through to reconcile us back to Himself and so… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.
I. The Waterless Pit
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.
Our first verse today is undoubtedly recorded for the purpose of showing us the coming abasement of the Lord of Creation, our Savior Jesus. Joseph’s brothers hated that their father favored him and that he was set above them.
The coat was a sign of that favor and of his authority over them. They wanted him to feel the effects of its loss and so when he was sent by his father to check up on them, they stripped him of it. The same idea is true concerning Jesus.
He, the favored Son of His Father, was sent on a journey to His brethren, the people of Israel – to be the Shepherd over them, but when they saw Him coming, they hated the authority He possessed and so they eventually stripped him as well.
This concept of His coat actually finds its fulfillment in two ways, one spiritually, and one literally. In his earthly adornment, God prepared a human nature, a coat, for His Son in a way which no other possessed. He was filled with His Spirit and adorned with the gifts and graces of that Spirit. When His brethren saw this, the Bible shows their jealousy of Jesus.
But in a literal way, Christ was also stripped by those around Him. First, when He was taken to Herod, Luke 23:11 says that they “arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe.” He was later stripped of this. He was also stripped of his own personal tunic, which was an expensive and carefully made garment. The account is recorded in the gospels for us. In John 19 we read –
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. 24 They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: “They divided My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore the soldiers did these things. John 19:23, 24
24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
Here again we see a picture of Jesus. Last week we saw that Reuben kept the other brothers from killing him. Instead, he told them to throw him into a pit, hoping to rescue him from it. We saw that the word for “pit” is the Hebrew word bowr, a word used symbolically for the place where the dead go.
Joseph is thrown into the pit and so in both intent and in picture, he is symbolically slain by his brothers after having been stripped bare. This is exactly fulfilled in the crucifixion of Christ. He died and his body was placed in the grave. His soul had departed.
Moreover, in this verse, the state of the pit Joseph is thrown into is described not once, but twice in the Hebrew – v’habowr req en bow mayim – “now the pit was empty, without water.”
It is described as both empty and without water when either could have sufficed, but this was again to show us coming pictures. The note that the pit was empty was to picture the unused grave Jesus was laid in. This is found in Luke 23:53 –
“Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.”
That the pit was without water was to picture that Jesus’ life was gone from the body – water being a picture of life in the Bible. One of many verses to show us this would be the famous passage of Jesus with the woman at the well in John 4:13, 14 –
“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Joseph’s ordeal, though tragic, has been recorded for more than one reason. It shows us how the dreams that he had actually came about. It also shows the sequence of events which would lead to the Passover. And it shows how these events parallel the greater work of Jesus.
Not only do these things mirror what He will do, but the things they lead to such as the Passover, do the same thing. The Passover again mirrors the cross of Jesus. One story builds into another and then into another, and yet each has hints of what will occur in the life and ministry of the Lord.
No wonder Jesus could claim that the words of Moses testified to Him. Everything written in the past was given in anticipation of His coming and His work. When speaking to the leaders of Israel, He said this –
Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5: 45-47
II. Selling Off the Favored Son
25 And they sat down to eat a meal.
Amazingly, even this short sentence, which is only a part of verse 25, shows us a parallel to the time of Jesus’ cross. Joseph was cast into a pit which is a picture and type of Jesus’ death. While there, the brothers sat down to eat a meal. Likewise, when Jesus was crucified and buried, the leaders of Israel sat down to their own meal. In John 18:28 this is recorded –
“Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning. But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.”
And again we read this in John 19:41, 42 –
“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.”
Just as Joseph’s brothers coldly ate a meal while their brother was in the pit, the same was true with Israel’s leaders. They feasted and celebrated the Passover while Jesus lay in the tomb.
25 (con’t) Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead…
The plain sense of this verse needs little explanation. They’re eating a meal and along come some Ishmaelites from Gilead along with camels bearing spices that they will take to Egypt to sell. But one must ask, “Why has God included all the detail? Couldn’t he have skipped some of it?”
Well, let’s go back and look at what the names mean. Ishmael means “God hears.” Gilead means the “Perpetual Fountain.” Joseph is in the pit, certainly praying for God’s assistance. God hears him and sends his deliverance. A group traveling from Gilead, the Perpetual Fountain.
In the same way, the psalms prophetically speak of the prayers of the Lord from the pit. In the 16th Psalm it says, “Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.” Then at the end of the psalm we read the note of victory –
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
11 You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (10, 11)
25 (con’t) with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
Like I said, the Bible could have just recorded the generalities. For example, “They had camels full of goods.” Instead it lists the goods and that they are going to Egypt. Egypt means “double distress.” God chose to include that they were spices, balm, and myrrh specifically to give us a picture of Christ’s death.
Joseph is in the pit, symbolic of death. Jesus is in the tomb, dead. In order to meet the customs of the Jews, it says this in Luke 23:56, speaking of the women who were with Jesus at the cross –
“Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”
In John 19, we learn that the burial spices included myrrh and aloes, thus we see the parallel brought clearly into focus once again. God is using everything in these accounts to wake us up to what He has done and will do through His precious Son.
26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
Judah is the one who realizes that there is an alternative to leaving him in the pit, something tantamount to killing him. Instead they could profit off the sale of him. And so he devises his plan…
27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
Judah proposes to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. Selling Joseph involves the supposition that he is in fact alive. They threw him into the pit and went to eat. To them, he was dead. But now they acknowledge that he is alive. This is important for us to understand what is going on here.
He say’s “he is our brother and our flesh” and from this note it says that his brothers listened. In other words, they agreed to the deed.
28 Then Midianite traders passed by;
Suddenly, and this is hugely curious!, an entirely different group of people are brought into the story. The Ishmaelites were noted. Now, almost completely ignoring that for a moment, it says that “Midianite traders passed by.” Commentators, almost universally lump them in as “Ishmaelites.”
But Midian was a son of Abraham through his concubine Keturah. Ishmael was the son of Hagar. They are an entirely different group of people. They very well may have been traveling together, but God, once again, chooses to single them out by name. Midian means “Place of Judgment.”
This name, “Place of Judgment” bears directly on what is about to happen in this same verse and what it points to in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
28 (con’t) so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit,
Guess what? The Hebrew does not say “so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit.” Rather, the words, “so the brothers” are inserted by translators for what they believe is clarity. Here is Young’s literal translation of this same verse –
“And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.”
Reading it this way, as the Hebrew reads, it says that the Midianites brought him out of the pit and then they sold him to the Ishmaelites. This is similar to what the Jewish scholar Pirk Eliezer believes. The brothers sold him to the Midianites and then they sold them to the Ishmaelites.
There is no confusion in the word at all. The brothers sold him and didn’t even want to see him again. They simply pointed to the pit and let the Midianites get him out. The Midianites then turned and made a quick buck off of re-selling him.
Why though? Why did God choose this wording? The reason is Jesus. He was in the tomb, the Place of Judgment, which is exactly what Midian means. In that pit, our sin was judged in Him and He was judged faithful. God raised Him from the grave, thus signifying that the divine judgment on sin was paid in full.
This is exactingly explained in Romans 5 by Paul –
For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
God did hear (Ishmael); from the Perpetual Fountain (Gilead), which is His throne; He restored the life of Jesus to His body which was covered in spices and myrrh at the Place of Judgment (Midian). This is why all of these names are given. Each word, selected by God, to show us what is coming in the work of Jesus.
28 (con’t) and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.
Of all of the pictures of the coming work of Jesus, this one is most commonly associated with it. It is almost universally agreed by commentators and scholars that this is a picture of the money paid to Judas by the leaders of Israel, and I… I completely disagree. Joseph has already been in the pit and Joseph is now brought out of the pit. What Judas did was prior to the crucifixion, not after.
This is picturing something else, something completely different and it’s found in Matthew 28:12-15 –
When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
Money was exchanged to keep people quiet and hide a crime. This is exactly what happens in both instances. Joseph was sold off by his brothers after being brought from the pit and Jesus was sold off by the leaders of Israel after He rose from the grave.
In both cases, the act results in movement from Israel to the gentiles. And in both cases, the movement will eventually return to the Jewish people. Joseph will be reconciled to his brothers after he rules Egypt during seven years of famine. Jesus will be reconciled to His people after the time of the gentiles and during the seven years of tribulation.
Foreigners carried off Joseph to their land, and the gentiles have carried the gospel of Christ into all the world.
28 (con’t) And they took Joseph to Egypt.
The price is paid, the money exchanged hands, and the Ishmaelites take charge of Joseph. He is taken to Egypt, the place of double distress. This is a picture of the message of Jesus going from the Jews to the Gentiles.
The Jews had the law, the gentiles had nothing; they are in double distress. But in a land of no hope, Joseph will bring prosperity and peace. And in the place of no hope for the Gentiles, Jesus will do the same. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:12, 13
“…that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
III. Jacob’s Anguish
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
Apparently, Reuben went out pasturing his flocks and he went in a roundabout manner in order to come back to the pit and deliver Joseph out of it. But when he got there, it was too late. He was already sold. Reuben means, “See, a Son.”
30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
Reuben hadn’t consented to the sale, nor did he know of it. But when he found that his brother was gone, he tore his clothes, a sign of intense grief and he asked “where shall I go?” Or, as God’s Word translation says it, “What shall I do now?” This is a beautiful picture of the people of Israel who had gathered in Acts chapter 2.
Peter explained what had happened, how the tomb was empty, and the Lord was risen. And verse 37 says this –
“37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?'”
Those Jews whose hearts were softened to the plight of their brother Jesus responded just as Reuben did. For those who repented, they were given the right to be called children of God. See, a Son! Thus the name of Reuben finds its fulfillment in them.
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
But, there are those who hid the truth of the message of Jesus and who refused to acknowledge their deed, just as the brothers of Joseph plotted to hide what they had done from their father. Regardless of whether they killed their brother or not, the bloodguilt remained.
They had sold him off as a slave, thus condemning him. What this is showing us is a time of rejection of Christ for the Jewish people. The Hebrew for “a kid of the goats” is seir izzim. It is a specific term used in Leviticus 16 for the Day of Atonement rituals.
On that day, two goats were selected using this same term – seir izzim. One was made a sacrifice for the sins of the people and one was used as a scapegoat. The scapegoat had the sins of the people confessed over it and then it was released alive in the wilderness to carry away, or expiate, the sins of the people.
This goat, killed by the brothers is the scapegoat for their deeds, but they killed it to cover what they did, using its blood as a trick against their father. This is a sad, after the fact, note which they had brought on themselves and which is reflected in these words from Matthew 27:25 –
“And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
Instead of accepting their King and rejecting Barabbas, they called for Barabbas and accepted the bloodguilt of Christ.
32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”
What is as cowardly as could be, they sent the tunic to their father by a messenger. They didn’t even have the intestinal fortitude to take it themselves so that they could be there to help their father through the grief.
But their actions couldn’t conceal their own guilt anymore than the leaders of Israel could conceal theirs. Joseph’s brothers will admit as much when they go down to Egypt looking for food. And the leaders of Israel knew it also when they tried to force the apostles to be quiet about Jesus. In Acts 5, we read this –
“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, 28 saying, ‘Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!'”
Our actions can be hidden from other’s eyes, but they can’t be hidden from our own consciences, nor can we hide them from God who sees all things. The Man’s blood was on them.
33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”
“My son’s tunic.” The ruse worked for the sons of Israel and the ruse worked for the leaders of Israel. Having rejected their Lord, they went about working to seek righteousness in a new way. They codified Jewish law in the Mishna and the Gemara, which together form the Talmud – the code of Jewish living to this day.
Jacob, whose name means “Deceiver” was once again deceived, and Israel has likewise faced the deception concerning Jesus for two millennia. The scapegoat’s blood has remained and it can only be removed when one turns to the Lord and acknowledges their guilt before Him.
In his anguish, he cries out tarowf towraf – “torn torn.” To Jacob their seems no hope and to Israel it seems the same. But God is in control of all things and His heart and affections for His people will always bring about a good end. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. So it will be for Jacob and so it will be for Israel. All in God’s good timing.
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
Tearing ones clothes is used as a sign of mourning. It would be like someone wearing a black band on their arm or rubbing ashes on their head. He demonstrates his grief openly, and then he puts on sackcloth. This is the first time sackcloth is mentioned in the Bible.
Like tearing one’s clothes, it is used as a sign of mourning. Instead of one’s regular clothes, they’d simply put on this coarse material made from hair which was used for sacks. In this state, it says he “mourned for his son many days.” He was a broken man, now living a shattered existence.
And this is the state that the Bible speaks of for Israel. In Hosea 3:4, 5 it says this –
“4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.”
The name “Jacob” won’t be mentioned again until chapter 42 when he directs his sons to go down to Egypt to buy grain. And isn’t this a perfect picture of the last 2000 years for Israel. They have been a side note of history. Living out mournful years of existence and awaiting their destined meeting with Messiah.
The patterns are rich and extravagant. The parallels are too numerous to dismiss. And Israel’s continuance is a testimony to God’s faithfulness to preserve them, despite the actions of the past.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.
One of the things that irks me most, and it is almost unanimous among scholars, is to say that “all his sons and all his daughters” doesn’t literally mean “daughters” even though it is in the plural. Jacob could have had 20 daughters and it wouldn’t harm the Bible’s narrative at all by mentioning only Dinah by name.
The reason Dinah was mentioned was because of her relevance to the pictures God was making for our understanding of His work. Daughters are only mentioned when this is the case. In other instances, they are left out of the record. Not because they were unimportant, but because the family line travels through the male.
If your commentary says something like this, put a big fat “X” through it. Jacob had many daughters and they, like his sons, were unable to comfort him in his sadness. Instead, he said that he would go to Sheol, the place of the dead, in mourning for his son.
The word sheol comes from another word shaal which means “to demand.” It is the place which inevitably demands all souls as its own. Jacob knows he will someday be required in Sheol and when he arrives, his hope is to be again with his beloved son, Joseph. Until then, his mourning will continue.
36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Once again, your Bible probably doesn’t reflect what the Hebrew text reads. It doesn’t say “Midianites” at all. Instead, it says “Medanites.” Medan is a brother of Midian. Both are sons of Abraham by his concubine Keturah.
Translators and commentators alike simply use the excuse that it is a scribal error, or its another name for the same people, and so on. But the plain sense of it is that the Ishmaelites, Midianites, and Medanites were all involved in the purchase, sale, and resale of Joseph.
Where Midian means “Place of Judgment,” Medan means simply “Judgment.” This is not arbitrary nor a mistake. Jesus was brought out of the Place of Judgment when he was brought out of the tomb. Now through that Judgment He is brought to the place of double distress where He rules during this dispensation. He sits in judgment.
When Joseph is brought to Egypt, he is sold to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, also called the captain of the guard. Potiphar is a name which is hard to pin down, but in essence it means “Priest of the Bull” in the Coptic Egyptian language.
Interestingly enough, the bull pictures the High Priest of Israel and so ultimately the work of Jesus. Once again, it appears that even the names in this last verse of the chapter are pointing to the on-going ministry of Jesus as our High Priest – the Priest of the Bull.
When a name is relevant to the story, it is given. When it isn’t, then no name is given. There is only one reason why Potiphar’s name is given and that’s because of what his name pictures. Jesus is our High Priest, a duty He performs for us before God. Joseph is brought here to show us where Jesus went to minister as well.
Finally, the term used to designate Potiphar as the Captain of the Guard is literally “captain of the slaughterers”, meaning the executioners. He would be the commanding officer who executed capital sentences. Why this name is important will come about later in how he treats Joseph over an offense in his house.
This is the end of the chapter and I’d like to remind you that God is never mentioned throughout all of the 36 verses.
Like chapter 34, which dealt with the sins of the sons of Israel, this one too deals with their sins. It shows that when they lived without God, they failed. The same is true with Israel the nation. When they are obedient to their Lord, they will receive blessing and honor. And when they disobey, they will suffer loss.
But through obedience or disobedience, God has remained faithful to them. Keeping them, tending to them, and preparing them for each step of His marvelous plan of redemption. And Israel, in a way, pictures us. When we include God in our lives, all goes far better than when we put Him on the shelf.
Let each of us strive to live for, and honor, this wonderful God who has given such minute attention to His word, that we can see His Son time and again… I love You – and my Son is the proof.
If you’ve never called on Jesus, but would like to have a personal relationship with Him today, let me tell you how it can happen…
Closing Verse: For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. 22 Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 2 Samuel 7:21, 22
Next Week: Genesis 38:1-23 (Judah and Tamar, The Transfer of the Pledge) (95th Genesis Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you and He has a good plan and purpose for you. Call on Him and let Him do marvelous things for you and through you.
The Pit of Despair
So it came to pass, in a plot so thick
When Joseph had come to his brothers
That they stripped Joseph of his tunic
The tunic on him, the one of many colors
Then they took him and cast him into a pit
And the pit was empty; there was no water in it
And they sat down to eat a meal
Thinking what they had done was no big deal
Then they lifted their eyes and looked
And there were Ishmaelites in a company
Coming from Gilead with their camels
Bearing spices, balm, and myrrh abundantly
They were on their way, we are told
To carry them down to Egypt, where they would be sold
So Judah to his brothers said
“What profit is there if we kill our brother
And conceal his blood when he is dead
When we kill him, the son of our father
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites
And let not our hand be upon him
For he is our brother and our flesh, isn’t that right?
Let us not with malice do our brother in
And his brothers listened
In their minds, the thought of silver glistened
Then Midianite traders passed by
So the brothers pulled Joseph up from there
And lifted him out of the pit so dry
And sold him to the Ishmaelites without a care
For twenty shekels of silver he was sold
And they took Joseph to Egypt, just 17 years old
Then Reuben returned to the pit
And indeed Joseph was not there in it
And he tore his clothes in dread
As a sign of his overwhelming woe
And he returned to his brothers and said
“The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
So they took Joseph’s tunic in their hands
And then of the goats they killed a kid
And dipped the tunic in the blood as part of their plans
This is the dastardly thing that they did
Then they sent the tunic of many colors
And they brought it to their father and said
“We have found this. Do you know whether it is our brother’s?
It is your son’s tunic or not?” We think he is dead
And he recognized it and said,
“It is my son’s tunic, not that of another
A wild beast has devoured him, now he is dead
Certainly torn to pieces is Joseph your brother
Then Jacob tore his clothes in his grief
And put sackcloth on his waist
And mourned for his son many days with no relief
The memory of what happened couldn’t be erased
And all his sons and all his daughters arose
To comfort him; but he refused their tries
To be comforted, and he said in his woes
Nothing will stop the tears in my eyes
For I shall go down into Sheol
In mourning will I go to my son
Thus his father wept for him in his soul
This is the result of what they had done
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt
To Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh
He was the captain of the guard
Those who carried the bow and the arrow
The life of Joseph has taken a sad turn
And he seems doomed to misery and woe
But from this story soon we will learn
That God had a great plan, one He did foreknow
Like all things, we should trust that God is in control
And so to Him our cares and troubles we should roll
His love is greater by far for each of us
Than we could ever fully recognize
And it is demonstrated beautifully in the giving of Jesus
The most glorious gift from our Creator so wise
And so in gratitude to our glorious Lord above
May we return to Him our undying, undivided love
Hallelujah and Amen…
